BEEF, KUMARA AND OREGANO PIE

Grease a deep 24 cm round loose base flan tin with butter. Line with short crust pastry and prick base for breathing. Refrigerate for 30 mins. Cover pastry with baking paper and fill with beans or rice for a 20 min bake in moderate oven. Remove beans and paper and bake for 10 mins more, then cool.

Bake Kumara cubes (2 cms) on a tray for 40 mins or until tender (during pastry prep.) Cut steak in same sized cubes and toss in flour and paprika mix until well coated (plastic bag best/ no canvas). Brown steak in small batches by frying in half the oil in big casserole pot. Set meat aside in a bowl when done. Keep spare flour mix for later. Deglaze pot with a little wine, (toss sauce in bowl too). Add rest of oil and fry onions, bacon and garlic until onion is soft. Add herbs, steak, tomato and paste, rest of wine and stock. Simmer covered for about one hour.

Stir in blended flour left over (from steak) extra water until boils then add cooked Kumara. Allow to cool.

Spoon filling into the pastry lined flan tin. Brush inner edge of pastry with milk/egg mix and cover with one sheet of puff pastry, pushing edges together. Trim off excess and brush top pastry with more egg mix. Lay 16 x 1.5 cm strips of pastry in woven pattern over top layer. Brush with more mix and bake for about 40 mins in mod. Oven until browned. Serve big slices with potato mash (butter and smoked cheddar in mash) and minted peas.